The tyrannosaur reached its enormous size “at the very end of the evolutionary history of the group”, while his fine senses and intelligence appeared earlier, according to a study based on the analysis of remains of a new species of dinosaur, called Timurlengia euotica .
the remains of a new species of dinosaur the size of a horse, found in the desert Kyzyl-Kum (northern Uzbekistan) provided key data about a family of dinosaurs small evolved over millions of years to become fearsome giants.
until now, little was known about how tyrannosaurs, including the rex became giants and intelligent predators that dominated the Earth some 66 million years
ago a team of paleontologists led by researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied a collection of fossil tyrannosaur found in northern Uzbekistan.
it was a new species that was dubbed “Timurlengia euotica” which lived about 90 million years ago, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
with that finding a gap of 20 million years fills in records of fossil tyrannosaur, in addition to providing essential data to know how it evolved the animal family.
the skull of the new species is much smaller than the “Tyrannosaurus Rex”, indicating that it did not reach the enormous size of this, but reveals that his brain and his senses were highly developed, the researchers said.
Timurlengia had approximately the size of a horse, long legs and could weigh about 250 kilos. According to the skull studied, the dinosaur had sharp teeth and should be a fast runner.
The first T. rex lived about 170 million years ago and was just a little bigger than a human, but at the end of Cretaceous period-some billion years later- had evolved into animals such as the “Tyrannosaurus Rex” or “Albertosaurus” which could weigh more than seven tons.
the new species outside the small size 80 million years after the first appearance of the tyrannosaurs indicates that its size was developed only “at the very end of the evolutionary history of the group”.
Steve Crusatte, school of geosciences University of Edinburgh, said: “T. rex ancestors were due to appear much Timurlengia”. A hunter the size of a horse with a great mind and a fine sense of hearing. “Only after these ancestral tyrannosaurs evolve your smart brain and keen senses grew to gargantuan sizes, like T. Rex. Tyrannosaurus had to be smart before you become great,” he said.
Key
The discovery . the scientists reported the discovery of bones of a previously unknown evolutionary branch that led to the enormous tyrannosaurs member. This ancestor lived about 90 million years ago south of what is now the Aral Sea. Overall resembled T. rex, but only measured between 3.00 and 3.65 meters (10 to 12 feet) and weighed about 272 kilograms (600 lbs) maximum, Sues said. T. rex grew to the quad and its weight was more than 20 times.
Timing. The discovery helps fill a void frustrating period in the knowledge of the tyrannosaurus. Before that period, which began about 100 million years ago, the ancient creatures were approximately the size of a horse. Just after the interval, approximately 80 million years ago, the tyrannosaurs were beasts of several tons as T. rex. The new discovery shows that the predecessors were still relatively small even just 90 million years ago; so the growth process happened pretty fast.
Standard equipment. The inner ear of the newfound beast and had features of Tyrannosaurus associated with good agility and ability to hear sounds low intensity, which could help it detect prey or other animals away. But the creature lacked the massive bone-crunching teeth and long sinus found in T. rex.
The name. The creature was called Timurlengia euotica. The name honors the former ruler of Central Asia Tamerlane and long inner ears of the beast. The fossils found include a skull and bones neck, back, tail, legs and hands. The animal was not a direct ancestor of T. rex, but indicates how were these ancestors, Brusatte said.
The award. The discovery helps scientists understand how “the parties (anatomical) were assembled (…) in the development” of the T-rex, said Thomas R. Holtz Jr. of the University of Maryland, who was not involved in the study. And it suggests where to dig for more fossils to investigate the transition, he said.
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